Hellenistic Age

Hellenistic Age, period in which Greco-Macedonian culture spread through the lands conquered by Alexander the Great. It is generally accepted to run from Alexander's death (323 B.C.) to the annexation of the last Hellenistic state, Egypt, by Rome (31 B.C.) and the death of Cleopatra VII, last of the Ptolemies (30 B.C.). After Alexander's death, and despite the temporary restraint imposed by Antipater, his empire was split by constant warring between rival generals eager for a share of the territory. Even after the accomplishment of the final divisions (Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia, Macedonia, the Aetolian and Archaean Leagues in Greece, Rhodes, and Pergamum), Greek remained the international language and a commercial and cultural unity held sway. The age was marked by cosmopolitanism (sharply contrasting with the parochialism of the earlier Greek era), advances in the sciences, and naturalistic art. The Hellenistic age saw the emergence of the philosophies Stoicism and Epicureanism.

See also: Greece, Ancient.